Folkert brothers square off in Hamilton Open final

Tuesday

Jun 24, 2014 at 9:12 PMJun 24, 2014 at 9:12 PM

By Dan.D'Addona@hollandsentinel.com (616) 546-4276

"I can't believe you got to both of those," Justin Folkert shouted across the net.His younger brother Jarrett just smiled after a long, eventful point in the boys singles final of the Hamilton Open tennis tournament Tuesday night at Hamilton High School.It was the first time the brothers had met in a competitive match, let alone the finals, and Justin defeated Jarrett 6-3, 6-1."It was a lot of fun," Justin said. "He played really well. I don't know if I have ever seen him play as well as he did at the start of the match."Jarrett, who will be a freshman at Hamilton in the fall, knocked off current Hamilton No. 2 singles player Eric Selle in the semifinals to earn a spot against his brother, Hamilton's No. 1 singles player.But Justin's experience was a little too much in the final, not that it bothered Jarrett."It is always fun to play against him," Jarrett said. "He is a great person. We are really close."So close that Justin has been stringing Jarrett's racquets as he has been trying different types of strings.In fact, Justin restrung Jarrett's racquet before the final."It is really great that he can string a racquet for me," Jarrett said. "He is just so brotherly to do that. It takes a while and it is great that he does that for me."Justin played down the gesture."It is not a big deal, just something I like to do for him," he said.It is just one of the ways that tennis has strengthened the bond between brothers."It has been something that we can go out and have fun doing together," Justin said. "It is a great way to spend time together. It has been fun to see him grow in the game with both of us improving."It is something Justin has noticed a lot in Jarrett lately."It has been really great to see how far he has come," Justin said of Jarrett. "He has really started to go after his shots a lot more. He is more aggressive and playing smarter."The Folkerts will play a big role in the success of Hamilton's high school team in the fall. Jarrett has watched Justin's success for three years and will finally get to be his teammate."It is something I have been waiting for for a long time," Jarrett said.The tournament continues with doubles finals Wednesday and the girls singles final Thursday.